Los Gatos kids run the show at KCAT's summer camp
Viewers who tuned into Comcast Channel 15 last Friday afternoon saw “KCAT's Got Talent,” a live talent show put on by the campers at KCAT studio.
KCAT's in-person video production camp started in early June and runs through the summer, offering weeklong camps where kids write, edit, film and produce their own TV show to be broadcast live on KCAT.
Based out of the Los Gatos High School studio, the camp alternates between two age groups — 7- to 11-year-olds and 12to 15-year-olds — for nine weeks over the summer.
The kids ran the whole show on June 24, from the director's countdown and the emcee introducing talent to the producers cutting to commercial.
Counselor Hope Hankenmeier, who attended the KCAT camp when she was a kid, said her favorite part of the summer program is watching the kids get excited about TV and film and coming out of their shell.
“It's really fun seeing them from the beginning of the week, when they don't really talk and they don't know anyone, and at the end of the week when they're jumping around,” Hanekenmeier said.
Henkenmeier is about to graduate from Syracuse University with a degree in film and studio arts, and has an internship at a women's entrepreneurship business. She said she hopes to work as an assistant director or producer after she graduates.
“I never really was super into film. I was very photography based, and then I did the camp and loved it,” Hankenmeier said. “It really got me immersed in the film and entertainment industry, which helped me find what specifically I wanted to do.”
The first half of the day focuses on live TV production, and the afternoon session teaches podcasting and film. Some campers stay for the full day of activities.
KCAT Executive Director Melissa Toren said this year the program debuted its new iPhone 13 Pro Max kits, which are available for checkout to any community member.
The week starts with a brainstorming session with the campers, followed
by scriptwriting and storyboarding the show. The young production team films some videos to air during the broadcast like commercials, and runs through dress rehearsals before airing the live show.
“This has been an exceptional week; this is one of my best groups ever,” Toren said. “I think it's because a lot of them are siblings, a lot of them came with friends.
The ones that didn't have just made friends.”
Nearly all the students want to be actors, Toren said. But once they get their hands on the control panel and filming equipment and put on the headset, they get excited about the behindthe-scenes aspects as well.
KCAT has held summer camps for the past eight years. The program has become increasingly popular over the years through referrals and repeating campers, and Toren said they've had to create a waiting list for new students to join. The KCAT team is working to secure a new location so they can expand this program and others.
The kids learn lots of important skills at the summer camp, said KCAT board president Burton Craig, like photo and video composition, writing and editing.
“You have to be able to present your ideas to your boss, to your coworkers. You need to get people excited about what you're trying to do,” Craig said. A week of camp costs $350 for a halfday or $600 for a full-day program. Toren said there are still spots open in the coming weeks at camp. To register, visit https://www. kcat.org/summercamp.